Swinging
by x.Radish.x
Summary: Who knew a schoolkid’s taunt could prove to be so accurate? Old work - 2006


Disclaimer: none of the characters mentioned in this fan fiction belong to me. They are property of Mike and Brian, Avatar God-s.

The lyric included at the very bottom of the page is not mine either. I don't know where it came from but I didn't make it up and I said so right in this disclaimer so you can't sue me (HA HA).

Katara liked it up here.

It was just her and the sky, stretching to what appeared to be eternity before her. Just _blue_: serene, calming, meditation in colour. A cerulean stretch of cloudless wonder, lit up by the blazing ball of yellow that was the sun. She shaded her eyes and squinted at the blazing star. She _hated_ that thing sometimes. It was so..._harsh_. So confident and leering in her ocean of sky, so angry on her canvas of serenity.

She opened the lid on her water skin and Bended the water into the air before her. It flashed and sparkled in the light of the sun, becoming lurid and losing its calming effect on the Waterbender. If only she were farther into the shade...but that would mean leaving her post on the topmost branch of the enormous cypress. She had been demanded to keep watch over the makeshift camp that the ill-assorted group had assembled, while Aang and Sokka took Appa to the nearest village to restock on supplies. Aang could have stayed with her, but Sokka was quite insistent that he should come because he didn't want to have to carry all of the supplies himself. So, being female (therefore not as strong as the boys) and extremely tired from travel, Katara was elected to sit in this god damn tree and make sure no one stumbled upon their camp; the sun burning all the while through her sky blue tunic. She shifted uncomfortably on the thick branch. If she sat in this particular position_, _that knot in the bark dug into her tailbone_. _But if she sat in_ this _position she was comfort- wait, no, that spiny little twig on the trunk kept poking the side of her face. This was fairly comfortable...yes, very nice indeed...NO! That damned _sun_ was in her eyes again! Katara sighed in frustration and continued to Bend the water to attempt to calm herself, twisting the thin stream around and around with tiny flicks of her fingers.

"..._Bored..._" she murmured, her eyes sliding half-shut lazily. Cicada calls sounded loudly in her ears, giving the impression that they were perched right beneath her eardrums. Birds flitted to and fro about her head, catching insects or preening themselves. The beat of their wings and their excited chirrups were the only sound, apart from the cantankerous rattling of cicadas. Certainly, it was nice to have some time to herself, but she would much prefer to be Bending properly, or swimming, or even reading the novel she had re-read until she could remember every tiny detail of the text. Anything but having to perch up here until her muscles cramped and the sweltering temperature of the sun burnt her cocoa skin.

_**Crack.**_

The snapping of a stick below her caught her attention. Carefully, she edged toward the edge of her thick branch; Bending the entire contents of her water skin, ready to attack. It was most likely just a foraging animal or someone from a nearby village taking a hike, but Katara didn't want to be caught off guard. She watched the edges of the clearing intently, for any flash of colour that might alert her to whatever was coming her way. Numerous other snaps and crackling of undergrowth made her aware of the direction the intruder was coming from: by the sounds of things it was only one creature, no more. Definitely a hiker from the village.

But just as Katara had begun to relax, a flash of red amongst the leaves drew her attention. She swung herself lower in the tree, crouched against the trunk in hopes to conceal her blue-clad form. Bark prickled against her face as she swung her skin content of water about in the air, ready…waiting…

But she was caught completely off guard when the figure stumbled out into the open. It was not, as she had expected, General Zhao, who had been hot on their trail for weeks: it was Zuko, his clothing sweaty from the hiking he was doing.

Katara got such a fright that she forgot to hold the water she was Bending in the air: it dropped straight down onto the prince's head, leaving him spluttering and extremely bemused. Katara gasped loudly, and clasped her hands to her mouth in horror as Zuko tilted his head upward to survey her crudely hidden form. His mouth twisted into a grin as he saw her, wide eyed and her mouth hanging open, completely defenceless against his Firebending. Katara made a mad scramble to get higher in attempt to waver his aim before he dropped his packs and sent a volley of fireballs in her direction.

"You can run, girl, but in that tree you've got no chance of concealing yourself," he called from the base of the tree, broadswords unsheathed and fire shooting up their length to her as she clambered desperately higher. "You may as well just give up now."

Katara found herself on the highest branch of the tree, looking down at Zuko in sheer terror. She couldn't give herself up; she would only be used as bait for Aang's capture. Zuko crouched, studied the looming tree before him, and launched himself upward onto a low branch, shooting threads of fire Katara's way from along his swords. Then, using the lengths of metal to hold himself to the tree, he sped toward her, golden eyes malicious. Katara Bended the little remnants of water from the skin to the air before her, seeing little more than a few droplets hover in her hands. Well, she might able to subdue any small fires if she was hit…

Zuko swung himself onto her branch, panting, and broadswords in either hand. His topknot flew in the slight breeze that rattled the leaves and teased the loose hairs around Katara's face.

"You have no way out, peasant. Give up?" he asked, a smirk forming on his pale face. Katara frowned and glanced across at the next branch. Zuko followed her gaze and his eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't," he said. She took a deep breath. It was now or never…

"Watch me," she replied tartly, and leapt.

Next thing she knew she had missed the branch and was tumbling into thin air.

Zuko watched, aghast, as the Waterbender groped wildly for the branch with her fingers and missed…falling faster and faster, nearing the ground… He was frozen until he heard her scream. Jolted by the shrill, terrified sound, Zuko abandoned the swords and swooped downward, catching branches to slow him only the slightest bit as he hurtled toward her falling body. With rapt determination, he took one last swing to one of the thick branches toward the middle of the huge tree and braced himself, arms out, face screwed up as he tried to position himself best: before he even registered the difficulty of the task he was to complete, she had fallen straight into his arms and knocked him backward. He felt himself fall, for only a moment, and then the breath was knocked out of him as he hit a wide branch toward the base of the tree, Katara landing –_thud – _on top of him.

Gasping for air, her mouth still stretched into a scream, Katara lay stunned on top of the prince, feeling him wheeze and splutter beneath her, but not really knowing he was there until he croaked, "Please…get off me…"

With a start she rolled off him, gazing at his gasping figure in surprise. He had saved her life?

"Zuko?" she said, and he glanced up at her, still trying desperately to inhale. She tried to still the shaking of her body and breathing deeply, trying to picture a still lake, trying to calm her racing thoughts…she had just fallen from a tree and been saved by Prince Zuko…

"You…winded me, peasant," he breathed, seeming to finally have the ability to breathe again. Katara scowled, despite her new feeling of gratitude for the boy.

"Well, sorry for being so incredibly heavy," she snapped. Zuko rolled his eyes.

"That wasn't what I meant."

"Yeah…whatever…" Katara sighed, brushing her hair into place with her fingertips. Zuko sat up and shook himself as she said, "Thankyou."

His head shot up, his expression startled, "Huh?"

"Thankyou, for saving me." Katara found herself feeling oddly bashful. "You…you didn't have to, you know."

"Obviously. But did you really think that I could have just watched you fall?" he asked. She gave him a puzzled look.

"Well, why not? We're enemies, after all," she replied. Zuko shrugged.

"If you want it that way…"

The sun pierced down, harsher, if possible, than before. Katara shaded her eyes and scowled.

"I hate that thing," she snarled. Zuko raised his eyebrows.

"Why?"

"Because it ruins the calm of the sky. It's so quietly blue, and then you have a great ball of yellow right in the centre," she explained, to an amused Zuko.

"You like sky, huh?"

"Mm."

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "without the sun you would only have night sky. There wouldn't be any daytime. So…the sun completes your lovely blue sky."

Katara pondered on this for a brief moment, and replied pertly, "That's true. Very good, for a spoiled Fire Nation snob."

Zuko glared daggers at her. She wanted to fight, did she? She was on. "At least I have the dignity to bathe in something other than my own filth," he snapped, "I highly doubt that you're civilised enough to wash yourself in a stream, at least. Probably pour your old cooking water over yourself once a week."

"Why you huge-headed, pompous, Firebending freak…"

"I am not a _freak!_ I'm a prince, and you will address me with respect!"

"Fine! Well, Your Highness, I bet you couldn't survive wild weather like I do. I'm sure you go crying to your uncle if you see the slightest possibility of a drizzle."

"You feral little bush pig! I'm not scared of rain."

"No, but you're certainly infatuated with the Avatar."

"I am not!"

"Are too! You're _homosexual…_"

"Well you're…you're…a slimy little fish!"

"A _fish_?"

"You were gaping like one before, when you landed."

"Pathetic."

"I am not pathetic! I'm a prince, far higher than you in society-"

"_And _you have ego issues."

"Water wench!"

"Throne hugger!"

"Troll!"

"Ogre!"

"Toad kisser!"

"Homosexual…dung pit!"

"So _that's_ where you bathe…"

"_I have more dignity than to bathe in a dung pit_!"

"Well I'm not homosexual."

"You are," Katara insisted, "Otherwise you wouldn't follow us all over the countryside just to glance your darling Aang…"

"I am not infatuated with that little bald creep. More like _you_ are," snapped Zuko. He looked away. Katara felt an evil little grin form on her face, and she replied, "Oh, jealous, are we?"

He didn't answer, only picked at a piece of bark on the branch they still sat on. Katara felt her stomach jolt and her face turned a quiet shade of pink.

"Zuko?"

"Do you really think that's all I follow you for? To capture the Avatar?" he asked, still not meeting her eyes. The blush on her cheeks deepened.

"Of course. Why else would you?"

"I-I can't tell you."

"What? You can't just not tell me," she sniffed. "You've hinted there's another reason, so tell me what it is." Her stomach writhed even more. Why was she encouraging him to tell her what she didn't want to hear?

"Well…you see…" A different side of the prince was surfacing; a bashful, sensitive part of him she had never realised existed. "It's kind of…personal."

"You can tell me," she said gently. He finally met her eyes: brilliant gold on dazzling blue.

"I…I've been following you so keenly because there's something you need to know…"

"Go on," she urged. Her breath came hot and fast, her heart racing, and even though she knew what he would say next, the words were enthralling as they slid from his lips…

"I've fallen for you, Katara."

The blush staining her cheeks would have done an over-ripe tomato proud. She felt her hands quivering and her stomach melted to her knees. Zuko looked away again, obviously taking her silence the wrong way.

"You see? I said I couldn't tell you." He stood to leave, but was stopped when Katara reached out to grip his hand. She was surprised at herself, but glad she had done so…she didn't want him leaving her now, not before she had made her own confession…

"Zuko…in the last five minutes, I've fallen for _you_."

He turned back to her, those bright, golden eyes boring into hers…

He stepped closer, cupping her face in his hands and bringing his lips to hers. Warmth spread down the length of her body, and if she were not pressed against his broad chest she would have surely collapsed from the quivering of her legs. He pulled away and whispered into her ear, "Your brother's not going to like this, you know."

Pulling him down to sit with her, his arms automatically winding themselves around her waist, Katara giggled.

"Oh well…I'm sure he'll get over it…eventually," she told him, and her grin widened as he kissed her again, slower, deeper…

"KATARA! WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING?" came a howl form below. The Benders jerked apart, both staring at Sokka, who stood below with his hands clasped to the sides of his head. Aang was doubled up with laughter beside him.

"S-Sokka!" gasped Katara, and jumped up from Zuko's hold. The prince glowered at Katara's brother, but she could see that he was as worried as she was.

"I told you he wasn't going to like this…" he muttered, glancing at Katara. She held her face in her hands.

"You bet I don't! Get down here, now!"

As Zuko and Katara climbed guiltily down form their branch, Katara could already imagine the taunts she would get from the Avatar…

Who knew a schoolkid's taunt could prove to be so accurate?

_Katara and Zuko sitting in a tree…K-I-S-S-I-N-G…_


End file.
